Robo-Ape Crawls Like a Spider, Opens Doors, Saves Lives

What has a terrifying smile, crawls along the ground like a spider, can open doors, and might one day save your life? The dextrous and multi-talented RoboSimian.

We first took a look at RoboSimian in August, when a video surfaced showing the machine practicing its three-finger grip and leg pull-ups. In case you were wondering what this not-exactly-huggable robot has been up to in the meantime, JPL released a new video (above) to show off RoboSimian’s achievements during DARPA’s Robotics Challenge Trials, which took place in Florida in December. The trials involved 16 robotics teams competing to perform tasks such as removing debris, climbing ladders, and turning wheels. Such skills could one day be useful for disaster response in dangerous situations, such as following a bomb explosion or nuclear meltdown, where sending in humans would be too risky.

RoboSimian placed fifth in the competition, allowing it to continue on with the top eight robots to the Robotics Finals event later this year. The winner of the contest will receive a $2 million prize.